Enhancing Good Governance, Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Georgia
Denmark's Caucasus Programme 2008-2009 focused primarily on improving the institutional capacities of the Georgian government to correctly implement reforms adopted in the years proir. These reforms were adopted in order to
modernize the judicial and human rights defense systems as well as to confrom with European
standards, so as to fulfil the commitments Georgia undertook upon accession to the Council of Europe. The programme was funded by the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and implemented by the Council of Europe in partnership with ECMI Caucasus as well as acted as a continuation of Denmark's Caucasus Programme 2005-2007. Denmark's Caucasus Programme 2008-2009 consisted of three main components:
Component I - Capacity building within the legal system, including the training of judges and prosecutors
as well as the preparation
of information for citizens about their civil rights, such as the right to a fair trial. This component was implemented in cooperation with
Georgia's Ministry of Justice and the Public Prosecutor.
Component II - Capacity building of the Public Defender of Georgia, including the implementation of a more efficient
system of evaluating complaint cases from citizens.
Component III - Supporting the authorities' efforts to comply with European standards on minority issues,
including supporting the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM)
together with assistance in signing and ratifying the European Charter on Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML).
This component also promoted legal review of existing legislation in order to establish compliance of national legislation
with European best practices.
While the first two components were implemented by the Council of Europe, Component III was executed by ECMI Caucasus. Execution of Component III benefited from efforts already undertaken by ECMI Caucasus, the Council of Europe and
other actors working in the field, while building upon Denmark's Caucasus Programme 2005-2007. Accordingly, Component III of Denmark's Caucasus Programme 2008-2009 aimed at
strengthening the state capacity to manage minority issues. This was conducted under five main themes:
Strengthening
of the Council of National Minorities (CNM) under the auspices of the Public Defender's Office.
Conducting activities related
to the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
Conducting activities
related to the ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
Conducting activities
related to the preparation and adoption of the Georgian Law on National Minorities.
Conducting activities related to the
implementation of the Georgian Law on Repatriation of Deported People.
Mini-Grant Mechanism under Component III
A min-grant mechanism for the Council of National Minorities and member NGOs was launched in
September 2009 within the framework of Denmark's Caucasus Programme 2008-2009 under Component III. The objective of this initiative was to
strengthen the organization of the Council of National Minorities' member NGOs through project development
and management training. Together these activities provided the means to implement mini-grant projects and to acquire the knowledge of how to
map as well as address specific issues of concern. Furthermore, the minority community organizations were empowered in implementing
grass-root initiatives with the help of the mini-grant mechanism. For CNM mini-grant projects see this link.
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